June. 19 1 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



235 



cook until tender, sweeten and serve as 

 sauce. 



Eggplants. Peel selected "eggs," slice 

 crosswise \ inch thick and dry in single layers 

 at ioo°-I50°. Redry before storing. For 

 use, soak product in water 6-10 hours, 

 cook slowly until almost tender and fry in 

 butter or butter substitutes, or cook until 

 done and serve with onions, scalloped or in 

 white sauce. 



Herbs. Gather parsley, mint, sage, thyme 

 or other herbs, wash thoroughly and dry as 

 celery- leaves. Crush or powder and use for 

 flavoring soups, stews, or gravies. 



Mushrooms. Peel and clean selected mush- 

 rooms and dry in single layers, sap side down, 

 at ioo°-i30°. Avoid checks during the dry- 

 ing period as mushroom gathers moisture 

 quickly. Dry until brittle and store in mois- 

 ture proof container, or grind through a coffee 

 or spice mill into a powder, place in well stop- 

 pered bottles and keep in a warm dry place. 



Soak the dried product in water before using 

 as fresh mushrooms. Use powder or flour 

 for flavoring meat dishes and gravies. 



Onions. Remove roots, tops, and outer 

 skins from bulbs, slice crosswise and dry 

 immediately, at I05°-I40°. Redry and store 

 away from light. 



Use dried product in soup mixture, or soak 

 in water 6-10 hours, cook until tender and 

 serve as fresh onions, buttered, scalloped, 

 or with white sauce. 



Peaches and Plums. Select firm, ripe 

 fruits, halve, remove seeds, quarter halves 

 and dry rapidly in thin layers at a tempera- 

 ture of ioo°-i40°. If desired, leave peeling 

 on and dry halves in single layers cut face up. 



Prepare and use product as directed for 

 cherries. 



Peach or Plum Leather. Wash ripe 



peaches or plums thoroughly, mash to a 



pulp, and dry on plates or platters until 



•' tough and leathery. Sprinkle with sugar, 



roll up and tie, if desired. 



To use, cut off piece of suitable size, soak 

 in water overnight for pies, tarts or sauce. 



Peas. Shell tender, green peas, spread on 

 trays and dry at a temperature of no°-i40 c . 

 Sugar peas, if taken when tender, may be 

 dried pods and all. Wash, cut diagonally 

 and dry as string beans. 



Before using, soak peas 2-8 hours in cold 

 water, cook in same water until tender and 

 serve as creamed or buttered peas. 

 I Potatoes. Cook or steam the tubers until 

 nearly done, peel, slice \ to \ inch thick or pass 

 through a potato ricer or a meat chopper, and 

 dry on trays, in single layers, at a temperature 

 of I20 -i6o° until slices are hard and horny- 

 like. Or, peel and slice tubers, steam for 20 

 minutes, and dry slices as in the former method. 



Soak the product in water 2-8 hours (suf- 

 ficient water to cover) cook slowly for 5 min- 

 utes and prepare as domestic fried, hash- 

 browned or creamed potatoes. Prepare the 

 riced product as mashed potatoes, if desired. 



Potato Chips. Peel medium size potatoes 

 and slice -fa thick into cold water. Let stand 

 for if hours, changing water twice. Drain 

 and partially dry between towels, place in hot 

 fat and fry until brown and crisp, keeping 

 slices in motion while frying. Lift out of fat 

 to a paper-lined pan, salt to taste and serve 

 immediately or store in parafined paper car- 

 tons until needed for future use. 



Pumpkins and Squashes. Cut pumpkins 

 or summer squashes into strips or rings, re- 

 move seeds and cut strips in pieces 2 in. long 

 and 5 in. thick. Dry on trays at ioo°-i6o°, 

 6-30 hours until pieces are almost brittle. 

 If desired, dry rings by slipping all on a clean 

 cord line, the desired height above the range. 

 Pumpkin dried to a brittle stage and ground 

 through a meat chopper makes a nice flour 

 for pie filling. 



Soak dried pumpkin or squash 4-12 hours. 

 (1 part water to 3 or 4 parts squash), cook and 

 serve as stewed or baked squash or as filling 

 in Thanksgiving pies. 



Raspberries. Pick berries for drying 

 while they are still firm enough to handle 

 without mashing. After sorting out imperfect 

 berries spread those selected, thinly, on trays 

 and dry at lio° to 145°. Hold temperature 

 below 125 for 2 hours and below 130 for the 

 2 or 3 hours following, in order that juices 

 will not be lost through dripping. Dry until 

 berries fail to stain the hand under pressure. 



Handle blackberries, dewberries, elder- 

 berries, huckleberries, loganberries, and straw- 

 berries in the same way, provided a similar 

 product is desired. 



Soak product in cold water 4-6 hours and 

 use as filling for pies or cook in same water 

 until done and serve as sauce. 



Strawberry Leather. Mash thoroughly ripe 

 berries to a pulp and follow directions given 

 for peach leather. 



Spinach, Chard, and Beet Greens. Wash 

 any of these crops thoroughly to free them of 

 all particles of sand or soil. Remove tough 

 stems from spinach, strip midribs from chard 

 leaves or slit roots of beets, lengthwise, into 

 halves or quarters. (Do not attempt to dry 

 beets more than § in. in diameter for greens.) 

 Drain washed produce as well as possible, 

 place on trays and dry at ioo°-i40°. Store 

 carefully to avoid crumpling of the dried 

 leaves. 



Soak in cold water (enough to keep product 

 well covered) and cook slowly until done. 

 Add a bit of salt pork or bacon to improve 

 flavor and to give a slightly higher food value. 

 Serve with vinegar as fresh spinach, chard, or 

 beet greens. 



Sweet Corn. Select well filled ears of 

 corn while kernels are still in the milk stage 

 or before their outer surface has become glazed 

 in appearance. Immediately after picking, 

 husk, silk, and blanch in boiling water 5-10 

 minutes. Cut from cobs with a sharp knife, 

 spread 1— \\ inch deep on trays and dry at a 

 temperature of I05°-I50°. To use, soak dried 

 corn in cold water 2-4 hours, cook slowly 

 in same water until done, season and serve as 

 fresh buttered or creamed corn. First class 

 dried corn is superior in flavor and quality to 

 the average canned product. 



Sweet Potatoes. Wash, cook or steam, 

 and peel the tubers until nearly done. Pre- 

 pare and dry as directed with white potatoes. 

 A very fine product will be secured. 



Soak dried product in cold water 4-10 

 hours, cook until tender and serve in any of 

 the usual ways or use as filling for sweet po- 

 tato pies. 



Tomatoes. Wash thoroughly ripe toma- 

 toes, scald in boiling water until skins slip 

 readily, dip in cold water for 2 minutes, pare, 

 core, and cut crosswise into J to f in. slices. 

 Dry in single layers on cloth bottomed trays 

 at no°-i45°. When dry remove from cloth 

 with a spatula or dull knife blade. 



Use product in soup mixtures or soak in 

 cold water 4-8 hours, cook, season and serve 

 as tomato stew. 



Turnips. Wash, peel and slice medium 

 size roots. Dry in thin layers at II0°-I50° 

 until tough and leathery. Unless dried rap- 

 idly or bleached with sulphur, turnips make a 

 discolored product useful only in limited 

 quantities as a soup mixture ingredient. 



"Julienne," a soup mixture can be readily 

 made up from dried carrots, onions, tomatoes, 

 turnips or cabbage, celery, parsley or other 

 vegetable products. The mixture may contain 

 matured dry peas or beans in varying amounts, 

 if desired. As with fresh vegetable soups, vary 

 the ingredients according to taste and to 

 different products available, taking care 





An eighteen pound pumpkin is largely plain water. In preparation for drying 5 lbs. of rind is thrown out. The \2\ lbs. of "meat" yields about s lb. dried product and six quarts of 



water is dissipated. For demonstration this quantity is here shown in the jars 



